A Milton woman was arrested last week after her children's poor hygiene at school prompted a Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office inquiry into the family's home life, which discovered living conditions deemed unfit for children.

Jessica Stevenson, 33, was arrested Friday and charged with child neglect without causing great bodily harm. Her bond was set at $12,500.

According to her arrest report, a Bagdad Elementary School staff member made a Florida Department of Children and Families report concerning three siblings who attended the elementary school.

Based on that DCF report, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation April 18 into the living conditions of the students, the arrest report stated.

Jessica Stevenson(Photo: Courtesy of the Santa Rosa County Jail)

The employee said she’d noticed a second-grade student wearing the same clothing for an entire week in April and that the child’s body odor was hard to ignore, the report stated.

The employee questioned the second-grader as to when their last bath had been, the report stated. The student replied they did not know.

The employee said she provided the student with a new pair of clothing and took the old outfit. The old clothes were “severely soiled” with dirt caked into the fabric, the report stated.

Additionally, the employee informed investigators that “hundreds of bugs crawled out” of the student’s “backpack in the lunchroom,” the report stated.

The second-grade student has four siblings, according to the arrest report. The five siblings were between the ages of 5 and 14.

Three of the five children attended Bagdad Elementary School, the report stated.

Another teacher at Bagdad Elementary School told investigators that she’d met with the children’s caretaker, Jessica Stevenson. The teacher said Stevenson “immediately berated her after assuming it was her who called DCF,” the report stated.

The teacher said that she knew that one of the siblings had repeatedly been given new clothing by the school, the report stated.

Each new outfit would be worn continuously, day-after-after, until it was inevitably worn out, at which point, another new set of clothing would be provided by the school to the student, the report stated.

Additionally, the teacher said her student was frequently crying, “having meltdowns” and seemed depressed, the report stated.

When deputies visited the siblings’ residence they discovered a cockroach infestation. The report stated, “The roaches were on nearly every surface in the home” including “on the children’s mattress, in the pots and pans in the kitchen, and inside the cabinets/fridge.”

The cabinets were empty of food, and the refrigerator contained two cartons of rancid milk, spoiled eggs, some sugar and a stick of butter, the report stated. A plugged in microwave dangled out of a window by its cord.

Overall, the home was “filthy,” the report stated, except for Stevenson’s bedroom. Compared to the rest of the home, Stevenson’s bedroom was clean with minimal roaches and had a stashed bag of snacks.

Stevenson made bond the day after her arrest and was released from custody on May 4.

Colin Warren-Hicks can be reached at colinwarrenhicks@pnj.com or 850-435-8680.